The new Dead Man

I was going to post something about ultra-violence, but I've just come home and found the latest Prog. I had to turn straight to the final epsidode of Malone, and by the end there was almost a tear in my eye. I don't mean 'almost' as a slight to the creators involved - it's just that 'almost crying' is as close as I get to the real thing these days.


It's a rare treat when 2000 AD serves up a poignant moment. Not something that can be legislated for by Tharg, it just happens every now and then with a long term character. Even then, it's a rarity, as so many characters are humour-based, and not disposed to this kind of thing. So it's a minor miracle the Abnett has pulled off, as Sinister Dexter was a full-on comedy strip if ever 2000 AD had one.

Just for fun, let's try to round up any other poignant moments the comic has had:
Obviously, Strontium Dog has featured two pretty prominent deaths, and both count
Dexter's actual death a few months ago
Dredd's had several here and there; even Garth Ennis managed one with the death of Dekker
Anderson's had at least one - I'm thinking 'The Jesus Syndrome'
Nikolai Dante has found several along the way, and that's without the need to kill people; there might be another one along anytime soon...
Halo Jones Book 3, yes?

Even if I had scanned in the relevant panels, I probably wouldn't here as that would be to denigrate the moment (even in rereads). I don't even have a handy batch of pics of Ray Dexter in action, more's the pity. But here's one of Sinister back from the late 90s, when he starts to get the impression that death is staring him in the face...